When It All Falls Apart
by Slush
Summary: After the war ended, everything thought there would finally be peace. They'll never know how wrong they are. //Maiko//Tyzula//Maizula// Drabble
1. It Is Too That Hot

**Hot And Cold**

_**Hot**_

It was a beautiful day outside, the heat simmering on the pathway as by-passing villagers walked, going on with their business. Azula and Ty Lee flung towels over their foreheads, wiping the sweat off, then throwing the towels in the yard, disregarding them. Ty Lee flashed a smile at her friend, embracing the hot summer air. Azula rolled her eyes at Ty Lee's perkiness, and tucked her hair into a sloppy bun.

"Where's Mai?" Ty Lee asked, perking up so she was eye to eye with Azula.

Azula rolled her shoulders back in uncertainty. "I don't know."

The acrobat's face suddenly lit up, a wide smile spreading across her face. "Well, if Mai's not here...then - "

The firebending princess cut her off, her golden slits of eyes widening. "What are you thinking, Ty Lee?"

Ty Lee giggled. "Nothing, I just thought - "

"_What?!_"

"We could go swimming, since Mai doesn't like to do anything fun," Ty Lee concluded, then turned a thoughtful eye on her friend. "What'd you think I say?"

Azula blushed in embarrassment, looking down. "Um, nothing...just that you would suggest something unreasonable, like...uh..getting undressed because it's so hot out?" she lied.

"Come on, Azula!" Ty Lee chuckled. "It's not that hot."

"It is too that hot."


	2. Cold

_**Cold**_

Azula shivered; a salty tear shook off her cheek, landing in her palm. It dissolved into her sorrow as she clenched her palm, digging her sharp, uncut nails into her wrist with pain. She opened her eyes slightly, staring into the forming storm clouds.

"Come with me, Azula," a small voice whispered. The woman by her side lifted Azula's chin, tilting it so it turned at a small angle.

Azula took in a big, shaky breath, throwing her head back. "No."

Ursa looked down, a small tear sliding down her hair, wetting her hair, already soggy with tears. "Very well."

Azula sobbed into her hands, shuddering with coldness. No one was there to comfort her as she slowly unraveled. She took a piece of hair and brushed it behind her ear. _It's okay, Azula; you don't need her_. The former princess stood up, looking Ursa in the eye, not daring removing her gaze. _She doesn't need you, either._ Azula started crying again, looking away from her mother, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Are you sure?" Ursa murmured.

Her daughter shook all over, shaking her head. She rubbed her hands for warmth, weeping softly. It was so cold...


	3. I Love You Too

Zuko sighed. He just couldn't get it right - what was it about this place? Everything he did here turned out wrong, comapared to Azula. Azula was perfect; she was the prodigy, the star, the favorite, the _princess_ for crying out loud. And Zuko? He was the outcast, the reject, and worst of all the "depressed prince," as people liked to call him. Somehow the title 'prince' isn't as flattering as 'princess' when you're Zuko. People said he gave it a bad name. Azula was thought to be better than him in many ways. And she wasn't, at all.

"Oh, Zuzu, you never do anything right, do you? You would like a change?" Azula cooed. She smirked, narrowing her thin eyebrows with sick pleasure. "You should go see Mommy - she'll help you feel _all_ better."

Zuko's golden eyes blazed with anger as his firm hands flung the flame he was balanacing in his hand back at his sister, scowling.

Azula's hand clenched into a fist as she pushed the fire back at him, then doing a backflip, spinning her blue fire round and round till it started to swirl with intensity. She twisted her arms forward, thrusting the flame at Prince Zuko.

The prince roared with pain as her fire burned his skin, and he ran away, frowning. Why is that Azula could get the best of him, every single day? He sat on a fountain side, wincing. The sunset seemed to feel his pain as it dimmed slowly.

"Zuko."

He turned to see Azula standing next to him, her arms crossed. "What?" he muttered.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Zuko narrowed his eyes, glaring at her. "For what? Ruining my life? You know the Avatar is still alive, why don't you just go and tell father now?!"

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Because, that would be mean."

"Since when do you care about being nice?"

"You're my brother, Zuko."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "I know that."

Azula sat down next to him.

"And I love you."

...

Zuko woke up, a single tear falling out of his eyes. He brushed his hair out of his face, crying at what had been his dream for a long time now.

"I love you too, Azula," he whispered.


	4. Firebending

Azula picked the head of a match with her thumbnail, then stuck it into the dry wood. She sat back on the sand, folding her arms and staring into the flames. Ty Lee sat across from her, running her fingers through the sand boredly. She looked at Azula and wondered why she used a match when she had firebending abilities. Frowning, the kyoshi warrior sat up.

"What's wrong, Ty Lee?" Azula muttered. "You never frown."

"Why didn't you just make the fire?" Ty Lee asked simply.

Azula narrowed her eyes, looking at her feet. She rolled back on her calloused heels. "I don't want to get used to it," she whispered, "because I might not have it one day."

Her friend went wide-eyed. How could this be? Azula was a very powerful firebender. Why wouldn't she keep her bending?

Sparks flew in front of Ty Lee's pondering eyes as Azula shrugged it off.

"Being in that asylum made me realize something," she continued, "that I myself am insane."

Ty Lee giggled, wrapping her arms around Azula's shoulders. "No you're not.."

"And you know what happened to my father, don't you?" Azula said. Ty lee watched her in amazement. How could she act so confident and sure of herself?

"Um, yeah...," Ty Lee drawled. "Why?"

"What if that happens to me? I mean, it never will, because I am such a powerful bender and all that," Azula laughed. "But just in case."

Ty Lee squeezed Azula tight, pulling her in an embrace.

"It won't, Azula. Don't worry," she whispered, resting her head on Azula's shoulders.

Azula yawned, shrugging off Ty Lee. "I suppose," she whispered.

"Now get to sleep," Ty Lee cooed, wrapping her arm around her friend.


	5. Irony

Azula laughed.

It wasn't much of a laugh; it was more like a taunt, a threat. The crisp air made the former princess' voice go dry and her lips crust at the corners. She sneered, but it wasn't a real sneer; some might think that she was sneering at herself for being such a simple-minded idiot. The irony of it all.

And then she smiled. Who knows if it was a real smile or not- only the gods could tell. The wind blew her prefect hair around the tips of her face, covering her in a shadow of secrets and lies. Like the ones she'd lived in her whole life. It made Azula laugh, thinking about it.

"I...I'm leaving," Ty Lee whispered dryly. It made her sick to see her best friend like this. Sick to the bone, and someone as upbeat as Ty Lee couldn't handle the pain.

Azula threw her head back and laughed harder, snickering and piercing her friend with glares as hard as the stone she'd melted once. "Who cares? Not me! Nobody cares about you, you traitor!"

A teardrop ran down the acrobat's face, sliding onto the cement ground and dissolving. Azula watched it with pain. She hissed, getting up and turning around.

"Oh, the irony," she whispered. "I think I can remember a time quite like this, when a certain someone betrayed another someone at a certain prison. It was very unfortunate the traitors had to be put in prison...but what must be done, has to be done."

Ty Lee shook her head, whimpering small 'I'm sorry's' that meant nothing in the world they lived in now.

Azula grimaced as she started to cry, gulping down frantic breaths as if they were the only ones she'd ever take.

"The sick, sick irony of it all."


End file.
